Photographer Uses Own Body to Create Surreal Lanscapes

Many photographers serve as their own models, turning themselves into the subjects of their shots. Finnish photographer Arno Rafael Minkkinen, however, chooses to use his body as a raw element that accentuates the untouched beauty found in nature and, at times, camouflages into the scenery. The true subject in the photographer’s work is the landscape.

Minkkinen uses his nude form to play with his surroundings in visually stimulating ways. Whether he’s cupping his hand around a distant ball of light (the moon) or mimicking the grooves of a mountain range with his extended arm, his shots exude a strong understanding of the environment and acute sense of shapes and patterns that define a landscape. His body echoes the most interesting characteristics of its environment.

In addition to his figurative imitations of natural scenery, Minkkinen plays with elemental attributes like water’s reflective nature to further entertain the viewer. His creative perspective and brilliant execution transforms the simplest landscape shot of trees lining around a body of water into a model garden for the photographer to pluck wispy wooden sticks from. The trees’ mirrored silhouette would go unnoticed without Minkkinen’s cleverly inserted fist giving the impression of a hand holding a bouquet of hay.

It’s worth checking out more of the photographer’s work on his website, but as a forewarning: it is NSFW.

We have always been big fans of Pakistan-born artist Anila Quayyum Agha’s mesmerizing art. In 2014, we raved about Intersections, a captivating wooden cube that cast dreamy shadows with a single light bulb. Fortunately for us, Agha is still creating intricate installations in this style, with her most recent, radiant piece being All The Flowers Are For Me. Like Intersections, All The Flowers Are For Me plays with light and space.

Researchers in Myanmar made an incredible discovery last year by finding the first dinosaur tail preserved in amber. The findings were published recently in Current Biology and are all the more incredible due to that fact that the tail was covered in feathers. Paleontologist Lida Xing made the discovery in a local market, where amber is frequently sold for jewelry.